A charity volunteer is urging fellow Catholic churches to help the homeless by getting involved at an Edinburgh winter care shelter.

Rab Burnett (below), a parishioner at the Ss Ninian and Triduana church in the city, helps out at the Bethany Christian Trust project in Gorgie Road.

Ahead of its busy winter season, the charity is looking for catering teams of six to eight people to come along to provide and prepare hot meals.

In a promotional video created by the Archdiocese of St Andrews & Edinburgh, Rab, a former headteacher, said: “How do you help and serve the poor and become, as Pope Francis says, a church of the poor? This gives you that opportunity to do that.

“It’s an incredibly positive experience and it’s great to see so many parishes of all Christian denominations involved.

“The whole idea is to make Jesus present and bring good news to people who are homeless on the streets.”

The winter care shelter opens on 23 September and runs for 32 weeks until 3 May. Last year it welcomed 746 homeless people.

Ruth Longmuir, care shelter manager, said: “This is a Christian project and we aim to show God’s love to people.

“So part of that is the catering teams from different churches who come along and cook the meals in the evening. That is seen as an expression of their faith.

“It would be great if there are an churches that would be willing to come along and bring food with them to prepare and cook a two course hot meal.”

She added: “Catholic parishes across Edinburgh have always been great supporters of Bethany Christian Trust for which we are so thankful. We are hugely grateful for any continued assistance, whether that be volunteering, donations or prayers.”

View our promo video here. To get involved call 0131 454 3120 or email ruthlongmuir@bethanychristiantrust.com.